2024-03-07 05:12:50
The Galapagos Government Council approved an increase in entry fees.
National and foreign tourists visitingGalapagos They will pay more for entry to the archipelago. He Galapagos Government Council approved this Saturday, February 24, an increase in entry fees.
According to the authorities, since August 2024 Ecuadorians and foreigners residing in the country who are over 12 years old will pay 30 dollars. In both cases, children under 12 years old will pay half.
Meanwhile, foreigners over 12 years of age who do not reside in Ecuador will pay 200 dollars. Likewise, children of other nationalities will have a 50% discount.
Only babies under two years old are exempt from paying entry fees.
Currently, Ecuadorians pay six dollars and foreigners pay USD 100. In all cases, the respective discount applies for children. Additionally, everyone must purchase the Transit Control Card (TCT), which costs 20 dollars.
“The decision responds to the objectives of promoting a tourism model in accordance with the conservation actions already undertaken, generating citizen benefits and stabilizing the number of tourists arriving to the island province,” said the Government Council of Galapagos in a statement. release.
The idea of increasing fees to enter the islands had been considered since July of last year. The same Minister of Tourism, Niels Olsenwho was then part of the Government of Guillermo Lassoconsidered that an increase in this tax would serve “to stop the rapid growth of tourist arrivals”, which puts the conservation of the islands’ biodiversity at risk.
Located about a thousand kilometers from the continental coasts of Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands They are made up of six large islands, thirteen smaller ones and 107 islets and rocks, which together form one of the best preserved marine reserves on the planet, declared a Natural Heritage of Humanity since 1978 by the Unesco.